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DATE: Friday, October 21

KICKOFF TIME: 8:05 p.m.

LOCATION: Louisville, Ky.

VENUE: Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium

CAPACITY: 55,000

TV: ESPN2

RADIO: Rutgers Radio Network

(710-WOR; 1450-WCTC; 97.5 FM)

The Game

Rutgers (5-1, 2-0 BIG EAST) is in search of its fifth-straight victory Friday night in a BIG EAST clash at Louisville on ESPN2. The Scarlet Knights have not won five consecutive games since the 2008 season ended with seven straight victories.

Calling the game for ESPN2 is Dave Lamont (play-by-play) and former NFL offensive lineman David Diaz-Infante (color analyst). The game is also available on the Internet via ESPN3.

Rutgers Rush Hour, a one-hour condensed replay of the game, airs Saturday at 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. on SNY. The full-game replay airs Tuesday, Oct. 25 at 1:30 p.m. on SNY.

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Series Information

Friday’s game marks the 11th meeting between the two schools. Rutgers leads the all-time series 7-3.

Under head coach Greg Schiano, Rutgers is 3-3 vs. the Cardinals, with all six meetings coming as conference games. Last season, Louisville defeated the Scarlet Knights 40-13 in Piscataway.

Rutgers is 3-2 all-time at Louisville, including a 34-14 win in its last visit to Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium in 2009. The two teams have played on Thursday or Friday on ESPN or ESPN2 in all six meetings since Louisville joined the BIG EAST in 2005.

Scouting Louisville

Louisville enters Friday’s game 2-4 overall and 0-1 in BIG EAST play following last Saturday’s 25-16 loss at Cincinnati. The Cardinals own victories over Murray State (21-9) and against in-state rival Kentucky (24-17).

Two of Louisville’s four losses this year have come at home vs. non-conference competition, falling to FIU (24-17) and Marshall (17-13) at home and 14-7 on the road at North Carolina.

Friday’s game between RU and Louisville feature two of the nation’s best defenses. Louisville is 17th nationally in total defense (303.5 ypg), 16th in scoring defense (17.7 ppg), 20th in rushing defense (100.7 ypg) and 38th in pass defense (202.8 ypg).

On the other side of the football, Louisville is 100th in total offense (330.5 ypg), 111th in scoring offense (16.3 ppg), 102nd in rushing offense (108.8 ypg) and 70th in passing offense (221.7 ypg).

The Coaches

Rutgers: Greg Schiano (Bucknell ‘88) is in his 11th season with the Scarlet Knights. Schiano is just the fourth coach in BIG EAST history to coach 10 seasons at the same school, along with Paul Pasqualoni (Syracuse, 14 years), Frank Beamer (Virginia Tech, 13 years) and Don Nehlen (West Virginia, 10 years). Schiano (64-64) is third all-time in victories among BIG EAST coaches. The 2006 National and BIG EAST Coach of the Year, Schiano has guided Rutgers to a school-record five bowl appearances over the previous six seasons, including four bowl victories.

Louisville: Charlie Strong (Central Arkansas ‘83) is in his second season as head coach of the Cards. Strong guided Louisville to a 7-6 record in 2010, including a win in the St. Petersburg Bowl vs. Southern Miss. Strong has an overall record of 9-10 with UofL.

Best Start since 2006

For just the fourth time since 1980, Rutgers is 5-1 or better after six games to start the year. The Scarlet Knights are 5-1 overall, including 2-0 in the BIG EAST. RU has only started BIG EAST play 2-0 twice in 21 years in the league.

Rutgers’ Best Records after Six Games since 1980

Year Rec. after 6 games Final record

2011 5-1, 2-0 BIG EAST -

2006 6-0, 1-0 BIG EAST 11-2, 5-2 BIG EAST

1991 5-1, 1-0 BIG EAST 6-5, 2-3 BIG EAST

1981 5-1 5-6